When to go · Longyearbyen
Longyearbyen in May
Great month. Inside Longyearbyen's best window: Mar–May (snow, auroras, snowmobile season) and Jun–Aug (midnight sun, boat trips).
Key facts
- Verdict
- Great
- Temperature
- −1°C30°F / −4°C25°F
- average high / low
- Rain days
- 8
- Crowds
- Medium
- Norway overall
- Prices
- Medium
- Norway overall
Verdict
Inside Longyearbyen's best window: Mar–May (snow, auroras, snowmobile season) and Jun–Aug (midnight sun, boat trips).
Weather in May
- LongyearbyenHighs around -1 °C, lows around -4 °C, rain on about 8 daysHighs around 30 °F, lows around 25 °F, rain on about 8 days
- Svalbard, Norway · Longyearbyenfine
High Arctic: polar night late October to mid-February (true darkness mid-Nov to end of Jan); midnight sun about 20 April – 23 August. Snowmobile season March–May.
Festivals and holidays
Dates as our data lists them. Moving holidays (lunar and Islamic calendars, Easter) shift every year: check the date for your year before you build a trip on it.
Constitution Day big impact
17 May · Norway
Children's parades, national costumes, everything closed; Whit Monday also falls on 17 May in 2027.
Crowds and prices
- Crowds · Norway overall
- Medium
- Prices · Norway overall
- Medium
Norway overall: Fruit blossom in Hardanger, 17 May celebrations; mountain roads still closed early in the month.
What to pack
- A warm coat, hat and gloves for mornings and evenings